In Sickness and Health
by gdhill
Summary: Mercedes appears to have the flu, but could it be something else?


**AN: This Samcedes one-shot could be a prequel or a sequel to my previous one, Fantasy Football. Not that reading that one is necessary for reading this one. But the careers and history of Samcedes are the same. And I tend to gravitate towards a zanier Mercedes and a more rational Sam. I know, very AU of me. I don't own anything besides my car and my dogs. And reviews are awesome. **

Mercedes was having an awesome dream. She was about to sit down and enjoy some hot Thai soup. The smell was so amazing that she could taste the salty, tangy flavors before she took her seat. And just when she picked up her spoon to dig in, she was awakened with a start. Now in reality, looking at the tint of the room, she feared that she overslept. Glancing at her alarm clock, Mercedes did a double take. "Shit!" she exclaimed after noting the time as 6:17. She knew she needed to be at work by 7:00 at the latest. She worked as a middle school music teacher. And although first period was just homeroom, she still needed to be there to take attendance. Plus, it was Thursday, that meant she had to coordinate the after school glee club practice.

"Dammit! I can't believe I overslept," she muttered to herself. She also felt her throat was dry and scratchy, the result of sleeping with her mouth open. Throwing the covers off of her body, she hurriedly made her way to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. While she mentally prayed for easy traffic on her fifteen minute commute to work, Mercedes thought out her outfit for the day, too. With no time to iron, she decided on a knit dress, tights, and boots. A loose low ponytail would have to do for the hair. Definitely a very loose ponytail as the stress of the day was already giving her a headache. "It's too early for all of this…," she trailed off as she finished drying herself. Only time for eyeliner and lip gloss, too. While Mercedes enjoyed simple makeup days, she didn't like being forced into little fuss because of time. She also had no time for breakfast. Knowing that a hungry Mercedes was a grumpy Mercedes she hunted around for something quick to eat. _"I don't even have time to toast a freaking bagel," she thought to herself._ Remembering she had an old half eaten small bag of trail mix in her work purse, Mercedes discovered the crushed pieces and hurriedly stuffed them in her mouth. Washing it down with her water from last night, she reasoned that she could get coffee or tea from the teacher's lounge at work.

Mercedes grabbed her bag and rushed out of the bedroom. _It was weird, she felt as if she could still smell that Thai soup from her dream. _As she looked through the coat closet in the foyer for an appropriate jacket and scarf, she realized that she was sweating up a storm. _Mercedes thought the shower and hectic morning were causing a hot flash. _Checking the time at 6:50, she heard some noise coming from the direction of the kitchen. Recognizing that she hadn't spoken to her husband today but still didn't have time, she called over her shoulder, "Baby, I'm about to leave! Running late. Will text you when I get a chance." Mercedes opened the door and was shocked. Her car was in the driveway, like usual. But behind it was the SUV of her in-laws. _That's weird. She knew they were coming over for dinner, but couldn't understand why their vehicle would be in her driveway at this time. _"Baby, what's up with your parents' Pilot in the driveway?" Mercedes called.

As she turned around to the kitchen and dining area, she saw three concerned pairs of green or blue eyes studying her. "Ummm, Mercedes, sweetie? What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?" Mercedes seemed bewildered, frozen in place with the open door, jacket, bag, and scarf in her hands.

"Sweetie, where are you going? We're having dinner with my parents. They brought over Thai from one of your favorite places."

"What? I'm confused. What day is it?" Mercedes noticed that her stomach was churning and her salivary glands seemed to be working overtime. The ancient trail mix was not agreeing with her intestines. She knew this feeling was familiar, but couldn't quite place why.

Sam said very slowly as if he were speaking to a child, "Cedes, it's Wednesday. My parents were coming over for dinner. You came home straight from work and went to bed saying something about a long day, a headache, and rest before dinner. I didn't want to wake you since you seemed so worn out. We waited to eat and now you're leaving for work?"

"Ohhhhh!" Mercedes exclaimed while her memory was jogged. "I think I remember now. But I don't feel very well. It's not Thursday morning?"

"That was one hell of a nap! I thought I heard the shower running, but assumed you wanted to freshen up for dinner. Sweetie, come over here and have a seat. You're not looking so hot."

The realization of what follows the salty salivary taste in one's mouth hit Mercedes like a ton of bricks. Unfortunately, she didn't make it to the bathroom in time for the realization, in fact, she didn't make it four feet from the front door. Mercedes vomited in the ficus tree that was arranged by the coat closet. With the sight and smell of her regurgitated trail mix in front of her, Mercedes heaved again.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Fortunately, Sam's mother went directly into mama mode. "Oh honey, what seems to be the problem?" she asked as she came to tend to Mercedes. "Mercedes, you're burning up!" Mary exclaimed as she placed the top of her hand against the sweaty forehead of Mercedes. "Come here, we need to get you straightened out," she said while she clasped Mercedes' hand into her own to lead her to the master bedroom. "Guys, we're gonna need you to clean up the mess out here," Mary said to Sam and his father.

"What do you mean?" Dwight inquired.

Mary testily answered, "You know exactly what I mean. Don't play dumb. I gotta take care of my daughter, you can take care of a ficus tree!"

Mercedes felt like an infant while she stood in the master bathroom as Mary undressed her. Lifting her arms, as Mary awkwardly removed her dress trying to avoid getting any stained areas on Mercedes herself. As a wave of dizziness hit her, Mercedes was able to squeak out, "I think I should sit down. I'm so sorry for forgetting about your visit, then getting sick…"

Mary helped her to the toilet. "Oh, please. Don't apologize, you're sick! Honey, how long have you been feeling poorly?" Mary asked as she went to the sink to wet a washcloth.

"I don't know. My throat is really sore and I feel like I've been at the gym for hours. I'm still confused about my days. Let's see. On Monday, two of my students left school early because they were sick. Tuesday was normal, I think. Wednesday, one of my students didn't come to school, but I heard about several more in the school that were out. Then Thursday…"

"Honey, it's still Wednesday. We haven't gotten to Thursday yet. But from the look of things, you won't be at school on Thursday or Friday either," Mary reasoned as she wiped Mercedes' brow with the damp cloth. Mercedes closed her eyes and sighed in appreciation.

"Sweetie, how are you feeling?" Sam asked as he peeked in the bathroom doorway.

Mercedes let out a weak moan, so Mary piped up, "Sammy, can you bring me some comfortable clothes or Mercedes' pajamas that I can change her into? And some Saltines and ginger ale or Gatorade to drink?" Mercedes gave Mary a fearful look. "It's okay honey, we'll go nice and slow, and if you don't feel like you can handle food right now, that's fine. But I would love to get something into you to settle your stomach."

"We still have all that Thai food in the kitchen," Sam said with a helpful tone.

Mercedes started to swallow repeatedly and take in a few deep breaths. Sensing that Mercedes might lose her battle with her stomach, Mary dismissively replied, "Thanks Sammy, but if you could just get the things I asked for please." Turning to Mercedes, she said with a shake of her head, "Sometimes I wonder about that boy." Lowering her voice and speaking in a conspiratorial tone, she asked, "Mercedes, could you be pregnant? I could run out and pick up a test if you don't have one."

Wide eyed, Mercedes vehemently shook her head and cried, "Nooo, Mama Evans! I'm on the pill and I have been faithful and careful about taking it every night. I can't believe you would even think that! We just went over how there's some bug going around my school."

"I was just asking since I know I had terrible sickness when I was pregnant with Sammy and the twins and it wasn't always in the morning. And since we're talking about it, isn't it about time you and Sammy started trying to have a baby? I don't want to pry, but you're not getting any younger and neither are we. Dwight and I would like to be at an age where we could still enjoy our grandchildren."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "Mama Evans, I love you. And Sam and I would like to give you at least one grandchild someday, but I'm literally too sick and tired right now to have this conversation with you. Can you help me take off these tights?"

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. You're right. Bad time to have this talk. But you just let me know when y'all are ready. I mean you are in your late 20's, and you realize that a woman is born with all of the eggs she'll ever have. It's different for men-"

Mercedes had to cut off her mother-in-law, "Mary! The tights. Please."

"Okay. I understand. Let's get you out of these things."

Sam reappeared in the doorway with Mercedes' pajamas. Noticing the tension in the room, Sam gave his mother the clothes then started packing his toiletry bag.

"Thank you, baby," Mary said to Sam as she finished taking off Mercedes' tights.

Sam said over his shoulder, "I put the Saltines and Gatorade on the nightstand in the bedroom."

"Sam, what are you doing?" Mercedes asked.

"Well, sweetie, since you're feeling sick, and you know I have that big presentation tomorrow, I thought it would be easier for everyone if I just stayed in the guest room and used that bathroom. So I'm just picking up some things for the next couple of days," he answered.

"Sam! You're treating me like I have Ebola or something! It's probably just the flu or a bad cold. Although your mom seems to think I'm hiding a pregnancy!" Mercedes informed Sam as she side-eyed her mother-in-law.

"Mom! What in the world! When we are ready to add to the family, I'll let you know. Cedes is not pregnant. Right, sweetie?" Sam asked in a higher than normal pitch.

Mercedes cringed at him. "Of course I'm not pregnant, Sam. I think I just have something that's been going around the school."

Mary relented, "I'm sorry you guys. I'm just so desperate for some grandbabies to cuddle. They would be the cutest little things! We could have the best playdates where we could do crafts, play games, go to the park, and-"

"Mom! We get it. And we'll keep you posted, but for tonight, let's get Cedes to bed. Speaking of which, I'm still going to stay in the guest room not just because I don't want to get sick, but I think we'll each rest better, too."

"Whatever, Sam. You want to abandon me. It's fine," Mercedes said as Mary helped her into the pajama pants.

Sam realized the trap that his wife was setting for him. Things were far from fine. "No, sweetie, it's not fine. You're sick. And I want to be able to take care of you, so I need to stay as healthy as possible. You always say that I'm a baby when I get sick. And you're too sick to take care of me, so our best bet is for me to be the one to help you," he said as he stroked the top of her head.

"I don't know how your reverse logic worked, but okay, I see your point," Mercedes agreed.

Sam beamed, "Great! So let me finish packing up some bathroom supplies."

"I thought you were going to take care of me?" Mercedes asked with a muffled voice as Mary helped her put on the pajama shirt.

"Will do, sweetie. As soon as I finish my presentation tomorrow. It's too late to reschedule. But my mom can handle things for the night. I'll take over for tomorrow's shift. And I'll call the principal to let her know that you're not able to go to work tomorrow."

Mercedes yawned, "Fine. I'm too tired to argue with you."

"So we're done discussing possible grandbabies?" Mary asked.

"Mom!" Sam exclaimed at the same time Mercedes stared incredulously at her mother-in-law.

"Well, I know I'm not getting any closer to them with y'all sleeping in different rooms," Mary muttered as she helped Mercedes to the bed.

* * *

><p>When Mercedes woke up the next morning, her nausea was gone. She still didn't trust her stomach to hold much down, but the sight of the Saltines on her nightstand didn't abhor her. Her head felt stuffy, throat was sore, and her body ached, but at least the desire to rid her body of its stomach contents had subsided. Noticing that the clock read 9:31, Mercedes remembered to check the time of day. As it was morning, she decided to call her doctor to see if she could get a visit sometime today.<p>

Gazing over on Sam's side of the bed, she saw a hastily scribbled note – "Didn't wake you b/c you need rest. Feel better. Will check in later. Love, Sam."

Yawning, Mercedes found her phone and called the doctor to check availability. The receptionist said they had a cancellation and should be able to squeeze her in around 2:00. They wanted to rule out anything serious. So Mercedes decided to ease herself into the day. After blowing her nose, she called Sam to let him know about her appointment.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling this morning?" Sam asked her in a sing-song manner.

"Okay. I mean, I still feel sick. But at least the nausea is gone," Mercedes throatily answered.

"Wow! I love that husky tone in your voice. You sound sexy."

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she replied, "Only my silly husband would think his wife that has the flu is sexy!"

Sam growled, "Cedes, I can't help the power you or your voice hold over me. Say something else. It's my kryptonite. I can't wait to get home and-"

"And do what?" Mercedes interrupted. "Sleep in the guest bedroom? You are something else. Anyway, I scheduled a doctor's appointment for 2 today."

"That's great! I'm glad your doctor is able to fit you in. Don't want this to turn into a sickness that takes months to recover. Look sweetie, I know you're sick, and probably don't want to hear this, but…" Sam trailed off.

Mercedes could sense the worry in her husband's voice. "What, Sam? What's going on?"

"I mean that I don't want to burden you with…"

"Sam. I'm your wife. It's not my burden or your burden, it's ours. What's up?" she asked as she sniffed.

"It's just that we were supposed to practice my presentation this week so you could give some pointers. But our schedules got hectic and now you're sick. I'm just worried about how Jerry will see this. I'm putting out tons of new ideas, and I just don't know how he'll take it. Jerry is cool for a boss, but…" Sam rambled.

"Baby, you will do fine! I know it. Don't worry about it."

"But Cedes-"

Mercedes cut him off. "But nothing! I feel like we need to do one of our cheers!" Mercedes and Sam had created cheers or chants to help each other or themselves as a couple when faced with uncertainty.

"What? Cedes, I don't think now is the time…"

"Too late. We can do one of my favorites, and I think it's appropriate for the situation." Mercedes cleared her throat, "Who's the man?" she sang. This was a cheer that they started back in high school while Sam was quarterback for the football team. Sometimes he felt pressure to perform and Mercedes assured him that he was worth it.

Sam sheepishly answered, "Sam, I am."

"Stop. Rewind! Sammy, I need feeling. You have to feel what you sing."

"Did you get that line from Mr. Schue?"

"Hey, sometimes he knew what he was talking about. Now focus. Let's try this again. Who's the man?" she asked with a cough.

"Sam, I am."

"Who's the man?"

"Sam, I am!" Sam chanted.

"I said who's the man?" Mercedes loudly sang with a gravelly voice.

"Sam, I am!" he exclaimed.

"That's right, baby, that's my man! Yaaay! Goooo, Sam!" She emphasized with a raised fist that Sam couldn't see.

Sam chuckled at his wife's zeal. "Thanks, sweetie. I really needed that. That cheer always makes me feel like I can do anything because of you. I'm feeling more confident about this talk. You're the best! Oh, I'm getting another call. I gotta go. But make sure you get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids, okay? Love you."

"I will. Good luck on your presentation. Call me back when you get a chance. Love you, too."

Mercedes turned on the television and watched one of those ubiquitous court shows. It quickly turned into a marathon. Before she got hooked on the third episode, she determined that she needed to shower and get dressed for the doctor. The shower felt amazing. The warm water was soothing and she used a minty shower gel to help open up her sinuses. Mercedes was able to put on her bra and underpants before she started another hot flash. After applying her lotion and looking at the time, she thought to eat a couple of crackers before her appointment. Happy that she was able to get them down and stay down, Mercedes started to feel really tired. She was hot and achy. She decided that she had time to lie down for just a minute.

* * *

><p>"Cedes? Sweetie?" Sam called out to his wife. Entering their bedroom, he saw that she was asleep in her underwear. Her hair was splayed across the pillow, her body was half under and half on top of the comforter, and her mouth was open resulting in audible deep breaths. Sam's thoughts wandered to the red high heel pumps that Mercedes wore the previous weekend. The thought of her in her underwear and red heels had him aroused. Her breaths could easily turn into moans if he could have his way with her. Suddenly, Mercedes had a coughing fit, so Sam's thoughts were drawn to his wife's ailment instead of her sexiness. "Sweetie? How are you feeling?" Sam asked after walking over to her and stroking her cheek with his thumb.<p>

Opening her eyes, Mercedes croaked, "Sam? What are you doing home?"

"Sweetie, it's 5:30. I'm home from work. I called you earlier a few times, but you didn't answer. How was your appointment?"

Mercedes sighed, "I must have missed it. After my shower, I wanted to rest my eyes for just a second…" Glancing at her cell phone in the bed, she noticed several missed calls mostly from Sam.

Sam smiled at her as his hand traveled from her cheek to her forehead, "Cedes? You never went to the doctor? It feels like you still have a fever. Let's take you to the emergency room."

"The emergency room, Sam? You've got to be crazy! I'm not that sick, am I? I'll be okay. I'll go see my doctor tomorrow-" Mercedes ended with another coughing fit.

"Nope! You sound like you're about to cough up a lung or something! If you won't go to the ER, we're going to a doc in the box. They are open 24 hours, and you need some relief. Let's go. I'm not taking no for an answer. Do you need help getting dressed?"

"No. I can handle putting on clothes," she answered with an attitude as she moved to sit up in bed. "Anyway, on to more important things, how did the presentation go, baby?"

Sam's eyes lit up with a permanent smile. "It was awesome! I went in there and killed it. You would have been proud."

"I am proud of my baby! So Jerry was cool with everything?"

"Cool? Sweetie, he was so into it! He said that my ideas were a direction he could see the company going and he would definitely like for me to develop them more. He's giving me a team to help flesh things out. Me! With a team? I don't even have an assistant. Crazy, right?" Sam asked with raised shoulders.

Mercedes grinned, "No, what's crazy is you ever doubting yourself. I believe in you, baby. And if I were healthy I'd love all up on you right now."

"Hey, I could take some vitamin C and you could get to lovin'!" Sam joked as he rubbed his own chest.

Mercedes got up from the bed and playfully pushed on Sam's forehead with her fingertips, "Boy, I need to get dressed."

* * *

><p>When they entered the urgent care facility, it was overrun with sniffling, sneezing, and coughing people. If Mercedes was feeling better she would send a gloating selfie to her mother-in-law surrounded by all of the sick people in the waiting room. "Pregnant, my ass…" she muttered.<p>

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," she answered.

"Do you want me to fill out the paperwork for you?" he inquired.

"Sam, I'm not an invalid! I'm perfectly capable of filling out some forms. You Evanses seem to think that this bug has affected me more than I can handle," Mercedes stated as she snatched the clipboard and furiously scribbled on the paper.

"You're an Evans, too! Or did you forget?"

"No, sir. I didn't forget," she said snappily as she read the next part of the form. Reaching for her purse, Mercedes recalled that she didn't bring it since Sam drove them to the office. Consequently, she didn't have her insurance card which she needed to fill out that section of the form. She sat silently pondering her next move.

Sam stopped hearing the writing sounds next to him and looked over at Mercedes sitting stoically with the clipboard and pen. "You finished? You want me to take the forms back to the lady?"

"No."

"So what are you doing?"

"Just sitting," Mercedes sighed. "Baby, I'm sorry that I've been in such a mood. You know I'm not feeling well. But do you have our insurance information? I don't have my card with me. Love you!" Mercedes asked in a baby-like sweet tone. Giving the clipboard and pen to Sam, she took his arm and snuggled into his shoulder.

Sam smirked at her, "It's going to be difficult for me to write when you're holding my arm."

Mercedes yawned, "I think you'll manage. You're talented."

Sam laughed as his wife dozed off listening to the sounds of coughs and sniffles from the multitude.

"Mercedes Evans?"

Sam jostled his sleeping wife to inform her that her name had been called. "I'll stay out here, Cedes. Holler if you need me?"

Mercedes nodded as she shuffled toward the doorway. After getting her vitals taken, she was ushered into a private room where she explained her current symptoms to a nurse. The nurse took down all of the information, when the doctor entered the room, she asked Mercedes to hop onto the examination table. The doctor was a tall thin blond woman that had a hippie vibe about her. When Mercedes stood, she felt like she was in a dream sequence on a soap opera. The edges of her sight were dark and fuzzy and everything seemed to move in slow motion. It was if she had tunnel vision and the floor was coming to her face very quickly. _Uh oh. _Mercedes thought and then there was blackness.

"Mercedes? You with us? Mercedes? How are you feeling? Ms. Evans?" Mercedes heard this as she opened her eyes. She was supine on the exam table with raised legs surrounded by the doctor, the nurse from earlier, and some other guy. Again, three pairs of eyes were worriedly taking in her reaction. Mercedes was feeling a slight sense of déjà vu.

Smelling that hospital antiseptic-like odor, she was able to speak with a shaky breath, "I'm dizzy."

"That's okay, we're here to check you out. I'm Dr. Holly Holiday, your physician here. I'm going to take care of you. Your body works harder than normal when you're sick, so we need to figure out why you lost consciousness. Have you ever fainted before?"

"No, not that I know of," Mercedes answered with inflection that sounded more like a question.

"Could you be pregnant?"

Mercedes looked indignant, "For God's sake, why do people keep asking me that? No!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down. We'll still do a urine test just in case. What did you eat today?" Holly asked as she continued to stroke Mercedes arm and look deeply into her eyes.

"Hmmm. Two saltines?" Mercedes recalled.

"Oh, that's probably the problem. Your blood sugar is too low. We can check that quickly. It's almost 8:00 at night. Let's get you something. Danny, can we get some apple juice and a granola bar in here?" The other guy left to get the supplies while the nurse pricked Mercedes' finger for the blood sugar test.

While they waited for the test results, Mercedes was too embarrassed to make eye contact with anyone. Looking at the charts and diagrams on the walls, she thought about Sam's presentation. If she weren't sick, this would be a perfect time for a celebratory dinner. She was so proud of him and how much progress he was making in his career. Smiling to herself, Dr. Holiday caught her eye and with raised brows. "Are you feeling better, Ms. Evans?"

"Ms. Evans is my mother-in-law. Mercedes is fine. Not really, just thinking happy thoughts."

"Well, that's always good medicine. Looks like your blood sugar is at 42. That's very low. That, combined with your sickness, and your movement to a standing position probably led to your fainting episode. But we'll still do a pregnancy test as well as test you for the flu and strep. How does that sound?" Holly asked.

Mercedes gave a fake smile to this doctor, "Sure. Whatever you think is best."

Soon Danny appeared with the apple juice and a few granola bars as well as Sam.

"Sweetie, what happened? I saw there was a little bit of chaos around your room and heard from this guy that you fainted," Sam said as he pointed to Danny.

Mercedes looked at him sheepishly, "Yeah, I think because outside of a few crackers last night and this morning, the last meal I ate was lunch at school yesterday."

Sam said, "That'll do it. Sweetie, I am sorry that you're feeling so bad."

She shook her head, "No Sammy, I'm sorry that we can't celebrate your presentation with dinner like we normally would."

"It's okay. I know where you work and live. We can go out once you're well," Sam countered with his signature smile.

Soon after having a granola bar and apple juice, Mercedes felt a little perkier. "Okay Mrs. Evans," Holly emphasized the "Mrs." and smiled at Sam while he warily eyed her. "Let's get a urine sample for the pregnancy test and while we're waiting for those results we can test you for the flu and strep. Supplies and instructions are in the bathroom."

Mercedes looked at Sam with a see-what-I-mean expression as she left for the bathroom. Sam chuckled to himself. Left in the exam room with the doctor once Danny and the nurse exited, Sam attempted small talk. "So it looks like y'all have been busy with whatever crud is going around."

Dr. Holiday nodded slightly, "Yes. But we are always busy. That's why we're an urgent care facility."

"Do you think Mercedes just has this crud?" Sam asked hopefully.

She paused before answering, "Maybe. We hope to find some answers."

"So this pregnancy test is just a formality, huh?"

Holly was decisive in answering, "No. When a female comes here and faints, my first thought is pregnancy because of the changes a fetus makes to a woman's body, especially in the initial stages when she may not know she's pregnant."

He looked at her with wide eyes and open arms, "But we saw all of the coughing and sniffling people in the waiting room when we came in. Clearly, something is going around. My wife is a teacher. Children are like cesspools of sickness."

The doctor laughed, "That's true. And Mercedes may just have the flu, but we want to cover all of the bases, including pregnancy. She could be pregnant with the flu. I mean you are sexually active, right?" she asked with prying eyes.

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. _Why was this any of her business? But he still felt obliged to answer._ "Yes, ma'am."

"With Mercedes?"

"Yes. She's my wife," Sam answered looking around the room as if he were on hidden camera.

Dr. Holiday continued with her questions, "And do you have unprotected sex?"

Sam answered in a tone just above a whisper, "Well, Cedes is on the pill."

"But you know that the pill is not one hundred percent effective, right?" she pointedly asked.

"Yes," he squeaked.

"Okay. So it's possible that she could be pregnant with your child?"

Sam answered fearfully, "Yes. I guess so."

Mercedes came back to the room interrupting the inquisition. Dr. Holiday stopped asking questions and Sam tried to hide his apprehension from Mercedes. Mercedes could feel the strange vibe in the room and worried when both of them ceased speaking.

"All set?" Dr. Holiday asked Mercedes.

"Yep. I used the tray in the bathroom."

"Excellent. The specimen went directly to our on-site laboratory and we should have results for you guys soon. In the meantime, I need a sample of your mucus for the flu test and I'll swab the back of your throat for the strep test."

After performing the tests, Dr. Holiday mentioned that the most recent strain of flu has left people feeling unusually bad and she would prescribe Tami-flu. There is no cure for the flu, but that drug would help the viral infection pass quickly. She would also prescribe an antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection. Lastly, she would prescribe a cough syrup with codeine to help Mercedes sleep better. "Let's see. We have your pregnancy test results. Are you okay with us sharing them with both of you?" she asked as she eyed Sam again.

"Of course, he's my husband," Mercedes said slowly.

"It was negative. You are not pregnant. How do you feel about those results?" Dr. Holiday asked with flair. She seemed to relish learning about the personal lives of her patients.

Mercedes and Sam shared a look. "Dr. Holiday, we appreciate your concern, but we really just want to get out of here. Can we leave now?" Sam interjected.

"Certainly. I'll get those prescriptions ready and you can be on your way," Holly smiled as she left the room.

"If one more person talks to me about being pregnant, I'll scream!" Mercedes yelled in frustration.

Sam placed a comforting arm around his wife. "I know, sweetie. It's okay." Sam was distracting himself with the same charts and diagrams Mercedes took in earlier. Looking over he noticed his wife wiping away tears from her cheeks. "Sweetie! What's wrong?"

"I don't know why I'm crying. I feel crappy, we're missing your celebratory dinner, your parents saw me upchuck old trail mix, I don't know when I want to have a child and I'm feeling the pressure, I'm the reason we lost the ficus tree and it was a wedding gift, and I could be dying," she wailed.

Sam was floored by his wife's admissions, but he knew it best to tackle these concerns one at a time and not just shrug them off. "What? Cedes, what are you talking about? My parents love you and I know you love them, too. I told you we can postpone the dinner. What else? We didn't lose the ficus tree. Dad and I just moved it out back so it could air out and I need to add more soil to it. We have discussed children as a couple and it doesn't matter who asks, we're in this together and it will always be a decision for both of us. You don't have to feel pressure alone. And dying? Sweetie?"

Mercedes hiccupped, "First, I keep falling asleep and can't stay awake. Second, I have a headache that won't go away. Third, you tell me I have to go to the ER, when I get here, I pass out! Third, I went to the bathroom, and when I got back, you and the doctor clammed up and looked guilty. You can tell me. Is it a brain tumor? I hope it's not a brain tumor…"

Sam pointed out, "Cedes, you said third twice."

"See what I mean? That's probably a symptom of the tumor! Just so you know, if I don't wake up tomorrow, I want you to have my record collection," Mercedes ranted.

Sam got up from his seat beside Mercedes and knelt in front of her so they were eye to eye. He clasped her hands and looked directly into her brown eyes. "Mercedes, you're being dramatic. There is no brain tumor. There hasn't even been a test that you've taken here which resembles one for a brain tumor. Sweetie, you have the flu, and you're sick, tired, and maybe a little delusional. Dr. Holiday and I were silent because she's weird and kept asking me about our sex life. I gotta get you home," Sam said as he got Mercedes up and helped her put on her jacket.

Holly returned with the prescriptions and noticed that Mercedes had red watery eyes. Not sure if this was a symptom of her flu or not, she asked the couple if they were okay. They nodded and walked out of the building.

As they were driving home, Sam remembered something, "What record collection? You don't own any records."

"Oh. I know. But my granddad does. He's supposed to leave me his record collection when he dies. So I'm giving his collection to you. I know you love music as much as I do. And don't let my brother tell you it belongs to him. My claim goes back to Thanksgiving eight years ago." She reasoned. But ended with, "I mean, the point is moot if I live through the night."

Sam snickered and shook his head at his wife as they pulled into the driveway.


End file.
